♪ you make my life brighter >> and that does it for me. i'm brooke baldwin. live at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. let's take you to washington. "the situation room" with wolf blitzer begins now. brooke, thanks very much. we're standing by to hear from the house speaker john boehner and we're waiting for anyone here in washington to suggest a real actual compromise that will avoid those devastating forced budget cuts. it's one scandal after another as pope benedict begins his final work as leader of the world's roman catholics. plus, a cnn exclusive. you will meet the real americans whose rescue from iran inspired the oscar-winning movie "argo." i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we're only four days away from billions of dollars in forced budget cuts. this afternoon, members of congress are finally back on capitol hill. president obama meanwhile welcomed the nation's governors to the white house. but is anybody looking for a real compromise that will avoid the chaos scheduled to hit this friday? our search for answers begins with our national political correspondent jim acosta. what's the latest, jim? >> reporter: wolf, if anything, both sides sound like they are digging in. the white house is accusing republicans of putting schools and the health of young children at risk. meanwhile, the republicans are accusing the obama administration of trying to scare people. >> welcome, everybody. >> reporter: speaking to a meeting of the nation's governors, president obama said if congress wants to stop those forced spending cuts that start going into effect at the end of the week, lawmakers better do something about it. >> these cuts do not have to

happen. congress can turn them off anytime with just a little bit of compromise. >> reporter: to get congress in the spirit of compromise, the white house is warning what's about to be cut on a state by state level. 1,200 teacher and aide jobs at risk in california. 7,500 fewer children receiving vaccines in florida. 52,000 defense workers furloughed in texas. the president asked the press to leave a closed door meeting with the gom governors. >> what i want to do is clear out the press so we can take some questions. >> reporter: and candid is what the president is getting from louisiana's governor bobby jindal. >> i think that the president needs to stop try to scare the american people. that absolutely you can cut less than 3% without all these awful consequences. >> reporter: just as jindal wrapped up his remarks, homeland security secretary napolitano suggested the cuts could make the nation's borders vulnerable

to terrorists. >> i don't think we can make the same level of security at all places around the country with sequester. >> can you just say right here for the record that you are not here just trying to scare people, that what you're saying has to happen, is a necessity, as a result of these cuts? >> yeah, i'm not here to scare people. i'm here to inform. >> line by line, page by page -- >> reporter: house republicans released a web video pointing out the president has repeatedly promised to comb through the federal budget to find smarter savings. a pro-obama superpac pointed out in the its own video republicans signed off on the forced cuts. >> we got that in law. we got that in law. we got that in law. >> reporter: governor jindal doesn't sound encouraged. >> -- a sense these cuts are going to happen? >> well, look, as you heard many governors say, we still think there's time for this administration to come up with a sensible alternative. but for that to happen, for these cuts to be averted, the ball's in the president's court. >> reporter: but a top

republican senate aide tells cnn to expect two different bills this week. one from the democrats. one from the republicans. and that there will be no filibuster. at least on the gop side according to this senate republican aide and the white house is insisting that any delay to these cuts include new revenues or new tax increases. wolf, the republicans at this point just aren't going to go for that. >> the house speaker john boehner just started speaking to reporters on the hill. i want to briefly listen to hear what he has to say. >> -- before the senate begins to do their work. >> good afternoon. we heard the president say last week that he was going to be forced because of the sequestration to let criminals loose on the street. if he didn't get another tax hike. today, we're hearing discussions from the secretary of homeland security that somehow we're going to have to sacrifice homeland security efforts in keeping our country safe if we don't get another tax hike. this is a false choice.

and the president's been engaging in this rhetoric of a false choice for weeks now. as the speaker just indicated, we in the house have acted. there is a smarter and better way to go about trying to achieve the reductions in spending so we can get a control over the spending. and in the house, we even included measures that the president has proposed in his own budget. but yet the president won't support even his own measures unless there's a tax increase. so the president really ought to stop campaigning and come back to the table and work with us. we care about what happens to this economy and the people who sent us here. we have proffered alternatives and solutions. we don't adhere or agree with this false choice the president's putting forward. and as cathy said, president's off campaigning in my state in newport news, virginia. yes, we're very, very concerned

about the impact on the commonwealth as we are on all states. there's a way to effect the right changes and reforms so we can avoid that. and we must set aside the false choice the president is proffering. >> as the other leaders have said, the president's only -- >> all right, so that's kevin mccarthy right now. that was eric cantor before that, the speaker. doesn't look like they're putting forward a new initiative to try to break the stalemate. he's referring to legislation that members of the house, the majority, passed last -- in the last session of congress. but that legislation is not -- does not spill over into this new session of congress, if congress is going to want to take up new legislation to avert this forced spending. they have to pass a bill this week. we didn't hear the republican leadership say they were about to do anything along those lines. they're waiting to hear from the president that they say as a result the stalemate continues right now. we'll get some reaction from the white house. no new initiative at least as

far as we heard right now from the speaker or from the majority leader in the house of represent times. we'll see if they can come up with something that will be acceptable to the president to avoid these forced spending cuts. what's called sequestration. much more on this story coming up. let's move on to some other news. we're going to take you out of washington at least for a little bit. there's a situation that's now threatening millions of people. for the second week in a row, a blizzard is roaring into some of the plains states and it's already bringing whiteout conditions to the texas panhandle and threatening parts of kansas still digging out from last week's storm. let's bring in our meteorologist chad myers. what's going on? >> a brutal snowstorm in amarillo, in woodward, oklahoma, moving into wichita, kansas. just wind today, wolf, 70 miles per hour. heavy snow in amarillo. something happened today that i've never heard of. i've never heard this before. they took snowplows off the

roads. because it was too dangerous for the plows to be out there. they had to wait for the wind to die down. the plows couldn't see where they were going. and that was amarillo. now the snow's into woodward. almost oklahoma city. to the northwest of stillwater and guthrie, moving into wichita, and even tonight, moving into kansas city. so bigger cities about to get hit. snow just coming down now. still not quite sticking to the roadways. salt working at this point. but tonight you will get another six inches of snow by morning. and then another four on top of that six during the day tomorrow. so it is coming down and it is going to come down everywhere across kansas, into kansas city, into elva, even a place where we've sent our short straw reporter right up there, south of kansas city, into spring hill, kansas, our erin mcpike is there. erin, you're going to get somewhere between 12 and 16 inches of snow before it's done.

>> reporter: a number of roads are already closed, chad. but the snowstorm is actually a mixed blessing to the region's big business, agriculture. the second major winter storm in under a week slams the great plains tonight. but farmers here aren't complaining. >> the drought over the last two years has put our farm in survival mode. you get the feeling that, you know, it can rain or snow again. it does happen. so i get the feeling we are going in the right direction. >> reporter: this is the third straight year the nation's bread basket is suffering from extreme drought. crop production and the region's economy are down dramatically because of it. with $3 billion of losses here in kansas in 2012. another problem, drinking water. here at hillsdale lake, a major source of drinking water for kansas city and surrounding

areas, the water level is 3 1/2 feet lower than average. >> we're hoping that the snowstorm that we had and the upcoming snowstorm can provide us with some much needed water for the lake and help us in the future. >> reporter: the drought also hurts cattle rancherses who need feed and water for their herds. but the snow creates problems of a different sort because it's calving season. >> we got our first one this morning. >> reporter: this morning? >> yeah. >> reporter: are you worried about that new calf and the snow tonight and tomorrow? >> not that one. it's the ones that will be born during the blizzard. probably going to lose a few. it's just part of it. we need moisture but a rain in the spring would be a lot better than a foot of snow, you know. rather deal with the water bill than a foot of snow and a blizzard. >> reporter: now, of course, this storm is a big nuisance for him and for cleanup crews but, chad, so many people we've talked to over the last week here say they're just thrilled to have any moisture at all.

chad. >> no question about it, erin, thank you very much. stay warm out there. it's going to be a cold blizzard as well. wolf, severe weather going on in the south as well. on the other side of this storm. louisiana and texas. tornado watches tonight. that's the the other side. warm and cold. it's the warm side. we'll watch those tornadoes for you. >> we'll check back with you, thanks very much. thanks to erin as well. in pope benedict's last few days as head of the catholic church, he's dealing with two serious issues including a cardinal resigning over a sex scandal. our own christiane amanpour is in rome. she'll join us live. plus, several nascar fans injured in a wild crash. coming up, we're getting new information now on what's being done to make sure this doesn't happen again. >> announcer: did you know there are secret black market websites around the world that sell stolen identities? >> 30-year-old american man, excellent credit rating.

>> announcer: lifelock monitors thousands of these sites 24 hours a day. and if we discover any of our members' data for sale, lifelock is there with the most comprehensive identity theft protection available. [♪...] [squealing, crash] call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. [ man ] i've been out there most of my life. you name it...i've hooked it. but there's one... one that's always eluded me. thought i had it in the blizzard of '93. ha! never even came close. sometimes, i actually think it's mocking me. [ engine revs ] what?! quattro!!!!! ♪

there's a lot i had to do... watch my diet. stay active. start insulin... today, i learned there's something i don't have to do anymore. my doctor said that with novolog® flexpen, i don't have to use a syringe and a vial or carry a cooler. flexpen® comes prefilled with fast-acting insulin used to help control high blood sugar when you eat. dial the exact dose.

inject by pushing a button. no drawing from a vial. you should eat a meal within 5 to 10 minutes after injecting novolog® (insulin aspart [rdna origin] injection). do not use if your blood sugar is too low, or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious and life-threatening. ask your health care provider about alcohol use, operating machinery, or driving. other possible side effects include injection site reactions and low potassium in your blood. tell your health care provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions such as body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat, or sweating. flexpen® is insulin delivery my way. covered by most insurance plans, including medicare. find your co-pay cost at myflexpen.com. ask your health care provider about novolog® flexpen today

pope benedict xvi gives up the papacy this thursday, but scandals are threatening to overwhelm his farewell ceremonies. the pope issued an order speeding up his process for picking his successor. the pontiff also met with three cardinals to discuss their secret report on leaks from his office which led to the arrest of his former butler. in another very damaging story, the vatican accepted the resignation of the scottish cardinal keith o'brien. unknown priests accused him of, quote, inappropriate acts. our senior correspondent matthew chance is joining us live in edinburgh, scotland. what do we know? >> reporter: well, wolf, i'm standing outside the official residence of cardinal keith o'brien here in edinburgh in scotland, where he's holed up

inside, he's not giving any statements beyond the resignation statement he issued earlier today which was accepted by the vatican. this has emergelged as one of te classic scandals that's been affecting the church over the past several years. you saw it in the united states with the child sex scandal. where senior clerics in the church preach one way of living life but fail to live up to the high standards that they're setting for everybody else. it was the archbishop of scotland, inside this building. but there have been other examples. at the moment, the focus is very much on this cardinal, this archbishop. at evening mass, the faithful in edinburgh have yet another scandal from which to be delivered. the resignation of cardinal keith o'brien, one of britain's most senior roman catholic clerics, has come as a shock. >> it has shocked me greatly. it really has. because he looked like a really good lovely upright man.

>> i'm obviously very sad for the, you know, what's happening in the church and the example it's giving, whether it's true or not, what has been said. it's obviously a very sad day for the church. >> reporter: the sudden departure follows this newspaper report in which four priests, two current, two former, accuse cardinal o'brien of having what they called inappropriate relations with them in the 1980s. the implication is of homosexual contact. the cardinal denies the allegations. but his resignation letter reads, for any good i have been able to do, i thank god. for any failures, i apologize to all whom i have offended. here's the thing. cardinal keith o'brien has been a vocal defender of church doctrine. on homosexuality and same sex marriage. publicly rejecting them both. supporters say he has voiced liberal views on the celibacy of priests, suggesting they should

be allowed to marry women. but on the issue of gay rights, he's often come across as a hard-liner. all the more surprising, then, that a scandal of this nature should end his career. it's damaging for the vatican too. already mired in pedophile sex scandal, it's trying to shore up its reputation ahead of the papal election in march. cardinal o'brien had been preparing to vote in that conclave. recently speaking of his worries. >> i will respond as well as i possibly can to the will of god for me at this time and to the will of god for the roman catholic church at this time. >> reporter: but now he won't be going to the vatican at all. preferring, he said, for attention to be focused on pope benedict and his successor, not on this scandal surrounding him. at home. even though the cardinal has

resigned, he will maintain his title cardinal. he stays part of the church. he also retains his vote in the conclave. if he wants to use it. but for the reasons we just mentioned, he has rejected that. saying he does not want any of that harsh media spotlight to be on him in rome. wolf. >> what a story that is. matthew, thanks very much. we're also watching reports in the italian press. hinting at an emerging scandal involving gay priests, male prostitutes and blackmail. our chief international correspondent krish yancystian amanpour is joining us from rome to discuss this in the final days of the pope's tenure. these leaks have been very damaging. what do we know about what's going on, christiane? >> reporter: standing here in front of st. peter's, you can't help but think that really people are getting whiplash from this one scandal after another that's coming out, these final days of pope benedict xvi.

regarding this so-called vatileak scandal, what we do know is three senior cardinals have investigated this particular allegation, and today they briefed pope benedict. now, he has kept it to himself. he's the only person we're told outside these three cardinal whols know what's in this. the press doesn't know. the news who first broadcast this over the weekend doesn't know. and the pope said he's leaving it to his successor. i spoke to a very senior italian journalist, very plugged in, a longtime vatican watcher, who says he doesn't believe these reports. he does say there are plenty of other things that have gone wrong. we know the pedophile priest scandal. we know about the financial improprieties. we know about the lack of governance and lack of accountability on all sorts of issues. he does not believe these lurid allegations that the newspaper broadcast over the weekend. wolf.

>> we had heard, christiane, that the pope decided to resign because he was getting old, he's, what, 85, 86 years old, his health was not as good as it should be, but now all these suggestions that maybe all of these leaks, maybe all of these scandals, were contributing factors in his extraordinary decision to step down. what do we know about that? >> reporter: well, what we know, again, from this journalist and from others who i've spoken to is this particular scandal that was in the newspapers here we're told by the vatican that that's got nothing to do with the pope's resignation. but most certainly these scandals regarding these crimes committed by pedophile priests against children over the decades swept all diocese just about in the united states, exploded throughout the catholic church here in europe, that has taken a big toll on the pope we're told. but also that his inability to govern in the way that he should have done in this regard

according to a very close vatican watcher is also an issue. he hasn't been able to really make this fully transparent and fully accountable. although he was the first pope to apologize for it. to account for it. to talk about it publicly. but it simply has not been dealt with to the full extend that many demand that it should be. and we might add, you were talking with matthew about cardinal o'brien, now, if these allegations are true and he denies it, the cardinal, they involve senior and presumably adult priests we're told. now, what's happened with cardinal mahoney, the recently disgraced cardinal of los angeles, he was accused of shielding the abuse against children. and of course these crimes have been against children in the united states. and here in europe. now, he, though, is on his way, if not already here, fully expecting to take part in the election of the next pope, in the conclave, despite mounting petitions for him not to do so,

wolf. >> christianchristiane's going there for us all week. we'll check back with you. thanks very much. wall street posting the biggest loss of the year. our own ali velshi standing by live. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. it's lots of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away.

we're going to wake the world up. and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. cisco. tomorrow starts here. see lioutdoors, or in.ight. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. maybe even a little better. visit your eyecare professional today to ask about our newest lenses,

transitions vantage and transitions xtractive lenses. experience life well lit. ask which transitions adaptive lens is best for you.

a brutal it a on wall street. the dow posting its worst loss so far this year. let's bring in our chief business correspondent ali vels velshi. ali, what happened? >> something unexpected has happened. as you can see in the beginning, the dow was doing okay. we had a lot news from around the world. new bank of japan governor going to be named.

we had some news out of china. we had this news that a particular candidate was winning the elections in italy. everything looked okay. there had been no developments on the forced budget cuts, if you will, so no particular reason. the market started to drift around. then suddenly, look at the acceleration around 3:30 to 4:00. you know from our history together, wolf, this worries me when you see heavy selling at the end. here's what we're piecing together. we're making phone calls trying to figure out what was going on. a picture is emerging that in the italian elections, it does look like, while that candidate was thought to be winning the elections and still is, the senate in italy, there are more gains being made by berlusconi. that means the two houses of parliament in italy, that may not be the same party and that may be a balance of power problem. the result of that is italy, which is a massive bond market, they borrow a lot of money, the price to borrow money has shot

up in italy, and that has sent ripples around the world because we're all connected now, and the idea that europe, which is starting to heal, may be in for a second leg of a crisis. italy is not greece. greece is the 32nd largest economy in the world. it is not even significant and look at the problems that it caused with its instability. italy is a major, major economic force in europe and around the world. so if italy is having problems, those interest rates are going up, it's becoming much more expensive to borrow money. it's creating investor fears around the world. that is at the moment, wolf, and we're still researching this, but at the moment, that is our best guess as to why we saw such a rapid turn. we'll probably get a result for this election sometime overnight and get a sense of it. markets around the world will get a chance to adjust. perspective though, wolf, the dow is up more than 5% for the year. most 401ks are in funds that look like the s&p 500. it's up more than 4% for the year. so stock markets have been performing very, very strongly recently.

this is an anomaly. this is, by far, the biggest drop of the year so far, wolf. >> so this slide today has nothing really substantively to do with this forced spending cut crisis that's under way here in washington? >> it's harder to tell today than it was ten years ago exactly what drove markets. up here when the markets were doing okay, we didn't think there was going to be a deal before friday. at this point, we didn't think there was going to be a deal. so i'm not sure this would have been affected by that. but let me just tell you, we're up near highs for the dow. remember in 2007 the dow was up in the high 14,000s. we're getting up there. as you get up to the top of the market, there are a lot of traders who work on the basis of technicals and when you hit certain levels they sell. a lot of volatility in this market. so it's probably not one reason. it's a bunch of things that came together. helped out by italy causing this drop on the dow, 216 point, wolf. >> let's not forget in 2007 when it went up to 14,000-plus. so it's around 14,000 now.

who has any idea where this market is going to wind up. >> that's right. >> it could be pretty volatile. just be cautious, be careful with all of your money. >> that's right. >> ali, thanks very much. the first lady of the united states, michelle obama, finished the week on a high. she presented the oscar for best picture in one of many recent tv appearances. is the white house overexposing her? we're going to discuss that a lot more. ever. nurses are dealing with a wider range of issues. and there are ever-changing regulations. when you see these challenges, do you want to back away or take charge? with a degree in the field of healthcare or nursing from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to advance your career while making a difference in the lives of patients. let's get started at capella.edu. many cereals say they're good for your heart, but did you know there's a cereal that's recommended by doctors?

it's post shredded wheat. recommended by nine out of ten doctors to help reduce the risk of heart disease. post shredded wheat is made with only one ingredient: one hundred percent whole grain wheat, with no added sugar or salt. try adding fruit for more health benefits and more taste in your bowl. it's the ideal way to start your heart healthy day. try post shredded wheat. this has been medifacts for post shredded wheat. try post shredded wheat. the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf., and every day since, we've worked hard to keep it. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy. we've shared what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. bp's also committed to america. we support nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger.

so can the white house and the republican leadership in congress see eye to eye before billions of dollars in those forced spending cuts kick in on friday? joining us now in our strategy session, two guests. our cnn political contributor the democratic strategist hilary rosen and the former u.s. senator from minnesota and former romney foreign policy adviser norm coleman. guys, thanks very much for coming in. the speaker just met with reporters on the hill. i'll play a little clip. this was his message.

>> listen, hope springs eternal. the president can sit down with harry reid tonight and work with senate democrats who have the majority in the senate to move a bill. it's time for them to act. i've made this clear for months now. and yet we've seen nothing. >> now, he wants them, senator, to move legislation that passed in the last congress. the last congress is irrelevant right now. you need new legislation in order to pass a bill. >> wolf, what's not irrelevant is last congress we had the tax increase. so now it's spending cut time. the president doesn't want to to the spending cut. we had the tax increase -- >> right now, to avert this fiscal crisis we have right now, these forced spending cuts, you need a new bill. you can't use a bill from the old congress. >> the president -- you know what, and i think scott walker, the wisconsin governor, said it, let the president come out and say, here's where we're going to cut $85 billion in spending. the bottom line is the president doesn't want to cut spending. it's $16 trillion in debt. he doesn't want to cut spending. >> he does want to cut spending but he also wants some tax increases. he wants to remove some

exemptions, some loopholes. the reaspublicans say we'll do that only as part of the grand bargain including entitlement reform. we're not doing it now. >> which the president has put on the table a grand bargain but the congress does not want to do it. john boehner had originally agreed to some $800 billion in loophole closings and other things. but now the house republicans have refused to do it. but i guess i have to say this which is -- this back and forth of he said/he said is just about the worst thing that they could do. i think the white house is making a mistake by trying to raise the temperature so much and, you know, bringing out the homeland security secretary to say, you know, terrorism efforts are going to be reduced and, you know, john boehner's out there saying nothing substantive. just it's all the president's fault and they started the sequester. i mean, really, there's really no reason why these guys can't try again to get together and -- >> they have four days.

they're not going to reach a deal. >> they're not going to get it done. >> of course they will -- >> by the end of march, we've got to deal then with the budget again -- >> they could maybe reach a deal as part of what's called a continuing resolution to keep the government open. some people are saying shut it down. >> they could reach a deal to delay the sequester which the president and the democratic leadership are now calling for and the republicans have refused. it makes the most sense to do it. it would be the most sensible thing. i personally would love to see these defense cuts but other people, you know, would like to see some more balance there. >> let me move on and get your thoughts. you guys are good political observers right now. the first lady in the united states, michelle obama, we've seen a lot her lately. take a look at this. >> there's so many different activities you can do indoors or outside. ♪ and i hear when jay leno retires -- [ laughter ] >> oh, yeah, yeah, yeah -- >> "the tonight show" position is going to be open and i'm thinking about putting my hat in

the ring. ♪ and the oscar goes to -- a little tired. if you noticed, i stayed up a little bit later. >> she can really do the dougie too. she's good. >> at least it wasn't gangham style. >> is this a little too much overexposure? >> first lady is, you know, the most popular figure in the country. i say bring it on. she's constantly promoting let's move. last night even at the oscars. which by the way was the worst oscar show ever -- >> you really liked it that much, huh? >> i think she should be -- the worst part about the first lady, was she had to come at the end of this terrible show. >> did you watch the oscars? >> she had soldiers there with her. that was a constant thing. i think the american people like that. >> the fact is that the president, the first lady, owed hollywood so much. for her to go on, i'm sure everyone was happy.

i'm not going to criticize the first lady. she's very, very popular. and we'll leave it at that. >> and she can dance. jimmy fallon might call it mom dancing -- >> you might give her some competition. >> she does the dougie a lot better. guys, thanks very much. i loved shirley basy doing "gold finger" last night, by the way. >> there's something wrong when the music is the best part of the show -- >> no, no, i love the music. that was the best part. >> that was the best part. >> all right, guys, thank you. by now, we all know the story of "argo" but what really happeneded? our own alina cho sits down with the americans featured. [ male announcer ] this is the opposite of subliminal advertising...

there's no subtext... just tacos. yeah, it's our job to make you want it. but honestly... it's not that hard. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. at liberty mutual insurance, we understand.

that's why our auto policies come with accident forgiveness if you qualify, where your rates won't go up due to your first accident, and new car replacement, where, if you total your new car, we give you the money for a new one. call... to talk to an insurance expert about everything else that comes standard with our base auto policy. and if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, your repairs are guaranteed for life. call... to switch, and you could save hundreds. ♪ born to make mistakes liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

the oscar-award winning movie "argo" tells the true story of hostages rescued during the iran crisis. sat down with five of the u.s. consular's staff who was caught up in the revolution. >> what happened? >> six of the hostages went out a back exit. >> where are they? >> reporter: in the movie "argo" ben affleck plays tony mendez, a real-life cia operative who hatches a plan to rescue six americans who elude capture during the iranian revolution. >> i got an idea. >> there are canadian film crew for a science fiction movie. i fly to terrain. we all fly out together as a film crew. >> reporter: that fake science fiction movie is called "argo." >> if i'm doing a fake movie, it's going to be a fake hit. >> reporter: these are the real embassy work erbs on which the film was based. what did you first think?

>> it was more exciting than the real think. >> reporter: bob anders. lee shots. kathleen. the first time they've all sat down together for a tv interview. the only one who couldn't be with us is kathleen's husband joe. currently working for the state department in the sudan. these are the actors who played you. what do you think? >> sure looked like joe. even got his little sweaters right. he used to wear these little sleeveless sweater vests. that's him. >> reporter: they took me back to the day, november 4th, 1979. when iranian students climbed the wall and stormed the u.s. embassy. what went through your mind? >> this will only last for a little while before the government will come and stop this. and i just tried to keep my staff kind of calm and collected. >> i remember calling my mother after about the first 24, 48 hours and said, don't worry, you're going to see some things on the news but i'm safe and

i'll call you. of course i didn't call back for three months. >> reporter: 79 days they hit from the iranians in the homes of canadian diplomats and came to be known as the houseguests. >> people would come to the house. we'd go upstairs and hide. at one point, there were revolutionary guards posted outside the door. >> reporter: then on january 26, 1980. >> there's a knock on the door. i opened the door. and there's two guys standing there in trench coats. i said, really, trench coats? >> you've gotten people out this way before? >> no. this is what i do. and i've never left anyone behind. >> tony's a very charming guy, very convincing. >> reporter: did you trust him? >> we didn't have a whole lot of choice. if we'd said no thanks, send in another infiltration expert. >> you really believe your little story's going to make a difference when there's a gun to our heads? >> i think my little story's the only thing between you and a gun

to your head. >> reporter: movie spoiler alert, it worked. once they cleared iranian airspace -- >> we all ordered drinks. i'm sure people on the plane, if they wondered, you know, why there were these arms that went up as we made eye contact. because we were sitting in different places. but we knew why. >> reporter: alina cho, cnn, washington. >> the former canadian ambassador to iran, he helped hide those americans. he'll join us live right here in "the situation room" during our 6:00 p.m. eastern hour. stand by for that. the "family guy" creator seth macfarlane made his hosting debut. the day after, the reviews are pouring in. how did he do? cnn's skey young law is joining us from los angeles. was he too edgy for the academy awards? >> oh, wolf, it depends who you talk to. some say this is exactly what they expected. but others say he was definitely too much for prime time.

♪ we saw your boobs ♪ we saw your boobs ♪ in the movie that we saw ♪ we saw your boobs >> reporter: raunchy and rude. >> "jadjango unchained." a story of a man fighting to get back his woman who has been subjected to violence. or as rihanna calls it, a date movie. >> reporter: too much or just provocative enough? take this bit with ted the talking teddy bear. >> what about you, you got a berg at the end of your name. are you jewish? >> no, i'm catholic. >> wrong answer, try again. you want to work in this town? >> reporter: it doesn't matter a cuddly bear is saying it. the anti-defamation league says the words came from humans and the impact is real. >> we live in a time of tremendous resurgence of anti-semitism around the world. so to have billions of people hear this stuff that so many of

them believe in the first place, which is the jews are all powerful and poisonous and control things are coming from our own movie industry was very, very disturbing. >> reporter: outside of the hollywood bubble, criticism was mixed across the board. on a night that featured so many female performers, the new yorker called macfarlane's jokes about actresses and the audience misogynistic awfulness. "the boston globe" was a little more forgiving. calling him a little howard stern and a little frank sinatra. >> some of the jokes of the evening offended people but i think that was the point. >> reporter: the village voice says what the audience got was seth macfarlane. and prime-time critics may not have been ready for it. >> the oscar audience perhaps wasn't ready and the critics weren't ready for going over the line and having someone up there who was willing to puncture pretensions, to push buttons. the ratings went up so obviously the public, as offended as they

were, they kept watching till the end. >> reporter: ratings were up double digits, 19% from last year. the highest, wolf, since 2007. >> people watched. waiting for something to happen i guess. thanks very much, kyung, for that. we've just received a scary reminder, one the nation's most popular sports is very dangerous.

we all got a scary reminder that sometimes watching a car race can be as dangerous as

driving it. a crash at daytona injured at least 28 fans. cnn's john zarrella has more on what nascar is going to be doing to keep the fans safe. >> reporter: seven people remain in the hospital here in daytona following that accident. and now concerns over fan's safety in the wake of the accident have reemerged. simply put, terrifying. a car goes airborne. parts flying. the engine slamming into a retaining fence. a tire catapulted into the stands. a caller to 911 sounds desperate. >> there's been a crash. these people -- it's serious. sprint tower, section zero, row 30. >> okay. >> we need help. big time, quick. >> reporter: more than 2 dozen people injured. >> i got hit by an engine or a part of an engine and i got a broken leg. >> reporter: that was on the last lap of saturday's race at

daytona. but the crash did nothing to keep race fans away from sunday's big event, the 500. accidents, they say, go with the territory. >> that's just the risk. it could happen at a baseball game, you know, hit with a bat, ball, whatever. >> reporter: but at nearly 200 miles per hour at times it's like high-speed bumper cars. drivers assume the risk. but should the spectators? >> going to take this incident, try and find out everything we can, and use whatever information that comes from it to hopefully make ourselves better. >> reporter: in the aftermath of the accident, there's a growing chorus within the sport, questioning that assumption. ask the drivers -- >> we can't catch a break. but that just shows that we have to keep working on the sport and can't be satisfied. >> reporter: the head of the texas motor speedway -- >> drivers, you know, they bargain for some of the risks that they take but the fans, that's something you just can't tolerate. >> reporter: by the time the 500 got under way, you couldn't tell there had been a crash. the 22-foot high catch fence at the impact point had been replaced. by all accounts, if not for the

fence, the accident might have been catastrophic. >> it kept the car on the racetrack. the parts and pieces fly into the stands, yes, they did. but the catch fence is to keep the majority of the car on the racetrack and out of the grandstands. so it did a fantastic job. >> reporter: still, there were injuries. some serious. some victims still hospitalized. nascar will, experts say, go back and look at the crash second by second, piece by piece, a quick fix, perhaps raise the protective fence, move fans further away from the track. but that would impact one of the attractions of auto racing, how close fans can get to the action. someti sometimes, it's just too close. now, next week, there's a race in arizona and nascar officials say they have been in touch with track officials in phoenix and they are sharing what they know at this point about how the accident here happened on saturday. wolf. >> john zarrella from daytona

beach, thanks very much. oscar pistorius's bail conditions. you're going to find out what he has to do at least for a couple of months. straight ahead. with billions of dollars of federal budget cuts drawing close, will victims of hurricane sandy get hit? [ male announcer ] when we built the cadillac ats from the ground up to be the world's best sport sedan... ♪ ...people noticed. ♪ the all-new cadillac ats -- 2013 north american car of the year. ♪ for a limited time, take advantage of this exceptional offer on the all-new cadillac ats.

south african authorities are keeping close tabs on oscar pistorius. some of the top stories in "the situation room" right now. >> saying pistorius must undergo four random tests for drugs and alcohol to make sure he is complying with bail terms. he is charged with fatally shooting his girlfriend. he must check in with his probation officer twice a week. the syrian regime says it is ready to talk with the country's armed rebels but that's drawing skepticism from the u.s. and the opposition. secretary of state john kerry says it's difficult to take the offer seriously when it's dropping missiles on its own people. rebel leaders say they will attend an international meeting on syria scheduled for later this week in rome.

cuban leader castro says he will step down in 2018. he made that anouncement after lawmakers re-elected him to a five-year second term. the 81-year-old castro took over from his oili inailing older br. the next leader will likely be this man, diaz-canel. okay, how about this, for just inspiring your next workout. a 101-year-old marathon runner has wrapped up his running career the way he started it, with a race. he completed a 10-k in hong kong over the weekend. he began running when he was 89 years young to overcome depression from the death of his son. the great, great grandfather has completed nine marathons and has raised thousands of dollars for charity. isn't that great though? he started running when he was 89 years old. now 101. just completed a 10-k. so that's inspiration for you,

wolf. >> that's amazing. it's a real inspiration. thanks very much, lisa. and you're in "the situation room." happening now, drastic forced budget cuts appearing more likely with each passing hour. now, a plan to try and ease the severity. also, yahoo!'s trail-blazing ceo dropping a bombshell on her employees. shaking up the tech industry's way of life. plus, the picture and the president. how "argo" the movie may be changing jimmy carter's image a bit. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com in just for days, a significant budget ax will fall in washington. the impact will be felt across

the united states. we're talking about those $85 billion in forced spending cuts. both many dids and republicans are talking about it. although neither side is apparently doing anything about it. here's president obama's warning today. >> we can't just cut our way to prosperity. cutting alone is not an economic policy. we've got to make the tough smart choices to cut what we don't need so we can invest in the things we do need. >> house speaker john boehner says democrats need to take action. >> the president says we have to have another tax increase in order to avoid the sequester. well, mr. president, you've got your tax increase. it's time to cut spending here in washington. instead of using our military men and women as campaign props, the president should sit down with harry reid. >> our chief congressional correspondent dana bash is up on capitol hill. dana, you had a chance to meet

with some top senators including john cornyn today. he tested out i think a new message. what did he say? >> reporter: that's right, it was a small conversation that i know the reporters had with john cornyn. what he says really at first blush defies republican dna because, wolf, he says that he is going to press his republican colleagues to argue in his perspective when these cuts go into effect, when it comes to cuts, maybe it's not as bad as the pentagon and others are warning. because he says republicans should argue that overall defense spending is still on the rise. now, cornyn admits that this is even a change for him. help said he would listen to leon panetta and others say these across the board spending cuts would be devastating. but he says he looked into it and he decided the best message for himself and other republicans, and of course this is the number two senate republican, is to say, you know what, maybe it's not going to be that bad. but as you well know, wolf,

arguing that any cuts in military spending is an anthem ma to most republicans so i would imagine he's going to get some backlash on that messaging when he talks to republicans about it tomorrow. >> when it comes to gop legislation to prevent the negative impact from the sequester, what are you hearing, what's going on? >> reporter: what's going on right now is there is sort of the leading idea among senate republicans for a proposal that they will probably vote on this week. is to give the president flexibility. with these forced spending cuts. and why this is important is because the way this law was written is it intentionally is indiscriminate. so across the board cuts mean across the board cuts. if the pentagon wanted to save a ship building program by taking money away by maintaining a golf course, they couldn't do that. because that's just not the way it's written. the idea is to give the president flexibility to save and to alleviate some of the most intense cuts.

the thing that republicans have not agreed on internally yet is whether that would just be on defense or across the board. the reason why that is important is because we are told that if they say the president could have flexibility across the board, it could lure some conservative democrats who are up for re-election, self-preservation is important, and they want to be able to say they voted on everything possible and it's the president's problem, not mine. even democrats, this is -- it's come down to political fight for the -- of the fittest. >> four days to go. dana, thanks very much. let's take a little bit closer look at the money right now. last year, last year, not this year, last year, budget spending came in at around $3.5 trillion. almost two-thirds of that, though, can't be touched by these forced budget cuts. things like medicare, social security, interest payments. so the looming cut would come from at least in the last year's budget about $1.3 trillion in what's called discretionary spending. dom mettic and defense spending. when you slash $85 billion from

that, we wind up with about a 7% cut from that so-called discretionary spending. which is obviously a lot more than 2% or 2.5%. this year's budget, by the way, is $3.8 trillion. almost $4 trillion. which is more than it was last year. so let's dig a little bit deeper into these numbers, what's going on. joining us, our chief national correspondent john king. our cnn contributor ryan liza, the washington correspondent for the "new yorker" magazine. and our chief political correspondent gloria borger. when you hear it's different from the so-called discretionary spending, it could have a real bite. >> yeah, it could have a real bite. it wouldn't take effect immediately. it would take effect gradually. what dana bash just pointed out is the key here, which is this is a meat ax. and that's the real problem. because you don't have any discretion about where to cut and how to cut and who to cut.

so, you know, this is no way to run a country. and it's no way to make budget decisions. and that's why these guys ought to get together and fix this before march 1 if that's at all possible. >> you think it's possible, john, before march 1, to get a deal? forget about a complete deal. for the legislation to pass the house and senate, which would give the administration, including the president obviously, some flexibility in how to come up with this cut. >> is it possible, absolutely. are these guys going to do it, probably not. the republicans say they won't come forward with flexibility plans. they believe the democrats will actually try to block them because there's -- unfortunately, for the american people watching, this is at the moment a cat and mouse game over blame. both have in the back of their mind these cuts are going forward. they also have in mind they're only going forward for a couple of weeks. as you know, forgive me, folk, sequester is a fancy word for forced budget cuts or children at play as i like to say. they like to pass what i call a

continuing resolution. the country doesn't have a budget. they have to pass a continuing resolution which is a funding authority for the president. somewhere in there, republicans say they will try again. and they will pass a continuing resolution a few weeks down the line that gives the president that discretion. the president can tell agencies, move the money around. republicans will think that's how it will play out in a couple of weeks. the question is, if the cuts kick in on friday, how much is the pain, and wlaehere's the political blame in that period? >> you need that continuing resolution to keep the government in business. otherwise, there's a shut down. some of us remember what happened in the mid-90s. >> we'll back here talking about three dates. the sequester cuts coming. the continuing resolution running out. and then again we have the debt ceiling coming later in the spring. >> i get a headache just thinking about all of that. >> absolutely. the one question is can the government handle the cuts? can agencies actually, you know, can the traffic, air traffic controllers cut 7% from their budget? and we don't know the answer to that. a lot of doom and gloom out there says no, this is going to

be catastrophic. the other question is, can the economy handle sucking $85 million out of the economy this year? the congressional budget office says that will cost 650,000 jobs. that's the other reason the sequester was supposed to be so odious to the politicians. it didn't just cut it like a scalpel it did it all at once, rather than over a longer period. >> go ahead, gloria. >> it just seems to me that it all depends what the default setting it. what you're going to go back to, okay. so when the fiscal cliff was hanging over their heads, that meant, uh-oh, americans were going to get tax increases. that couldn't happen. when the debt ceiling was hanging over their heads, that meant, uh-oh, the faith full and credit of the united states government was hanging over their heads. we had to be able to pay our bills. that couldn't happen. what's hanging over their held, now? first of all, this is not a natural disaster. this is a manmade disaster which they all made. and what's hanging over their heads? budget cuts. which, by the way, a lot of

democrats like to see those big budget cuts on the pentagon. a lot of republicans would like to see those budget cuts on some domestic spending. so what's hanging over their heads right now is not as awful as the last couple of times we went around this. and so i think that's why john's right. that's why they're going to end up having this problem. >> how about pride? how about that has beening ov i their head? they work in a government that at least can do its most basic function and pass a budget? they work in a government and not a circus. how about pride in that? >> that would be good. you saw the article bob woodward had in "the washington post" this weekend. saying the president is in effect moving the goal post on the $85 billion. so when the president asks that a substitute for the sequester include not just spending cuts but also new revenue, that means taxes, he is moving the goal posts. his call for a balanced approach is reasonable, and he makes a strong case that those in the top income brackets could and should pay more.

but that was not the deal he made. was that the deal he made? that the $85 billion could not include any additional tax revenue? >> look, the way i look at this, you actually have to step further back. how did they get into the sequester negotiations? where republicans were demanding this trouble that the white house did eventually come up with? it was the failure of the grand bargain, right? and, you know, i have a piece this week out about eric cantor. i asked him, is it true you talked john boehner out of consummating that deal with the president of the united states? he said yeah, that's a fair assessment. that's where everything flows. all the budget crises, they flow from the failure of that grand bargain. because boehner couldn't sell the deal to the most conservative members in the house. >> yeah but, you know, even -- ryan, even when they were negotiating that grand bargain, there was a charge that president obama at the time moved the goal posts. and that the reason that it didn't succeed was because he wanted to add more tax increases

to that. so these are charges, excuse the expression, that these little boys have been throwing -- >> you're not talking about me and john? >> i'm not talking about you guys. but they have been engaging in for years. and at a certain point, we have to say, you know what, i don't care whose idea this was first and i don't care who moved the goal posts or who didn't move the goal posts. what i believe is that this is no way to run our country. period. >> all right. we're going to keep your guys. don't go away it the first lady of the united states finished the week on a high. in one of many recent tv appearances. is the white house overexposing her? we'll talk about that. also, americans in iran building bridges through wrestling. see life in the best light.

outdoors, or in. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. maybe even a little better. visit your eyecare professional today to ask about our newest lenses, transitions vantage and transitions xtractive lenses. experience life well lit. ask which transitions adaptive lens is best for you. so i used my citi thankyou card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? and with all the points i've been earning, i was able to get us a flight to our favorite climbing spot even on a holiday weekend. ♪ things are definitely looking up. [ male announcer ] with no blackout dates, you can use your citi thankyou points to travel whenever you want. visit citi.com/thankyoucards to apply.

[ male announcer ] that's why there's ocuvite to help replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. ocuvite. help protect your eye health. [ barking ]

♪ come on, boy! [ barks ] ♪ oh, heavenly day here we go. ♪ cha-cha-cha ♪ don't you know that i love ya ♪ ♪ cha-cha-cha-cha-cha ♪ always thinking of ya ♪ all around the world ♪ everybody singin' along ♪ singin' along ♪ fly me to the moon ♪ let me play among the stars ♪ let me see what spring -- ♪ [ birds chirping ] [ male announcer ] with the best lineup of vehicles ever, introducing the new chevrolet. ♪ oh, heavenly day why just go from "a" to "b" when imagination can take you everywhere? ♪ all the clouds blew away chevrolet. find new roads.

we're back with john king. also ryan lizza and gloria borger from new york. the first lady of the united states, she had this to say last night. >> and now for the moment we have all been waiting for. and the oscar goes to -- "argo." congratulations. >> gloria i think you got to admit, she looked fabulous last night. the dress, the bangs, the whole nine yards. this is like a covert operation. no one knew apparently except for harvey weinstein that she was going to be doing this. >> yeah, maybe the president of the united states knew what do you think, wolf? >> maybe. >> yeah, i think so. look, there were lots of movies this year that the white house really wanted to celebrate. lincoln being one of them. "argo" being believe it or not a

time when government worked. when, you know, a covert operation worked. and so i think it was sort of a neat idea for them to do this. and of course she looked fabulous. and stayed up a little later than she normally stays up. because she gets up at like, what, 5:00 in the morning to exercise, just to make us all feel terrible about how we don't do that. yeah. >> are we seeing too much of her? i think we're seeing a lot more of her now, correct me if i'm wrong, john, then we did, let's say, the first term. >> part of it is she's much more comfortable. you'll see in the second term, there's no election ahead. she's free to be more herself. more out there. there's always a debate are you over exposing the first lady. if she gets deeply into policy, you might see some risk. let's see what she carves out in the second term. this is her chance to improve a legacy, if you will. look, she's the most popular person. nothing against the president. he's around 50%, a little higher. she's more popular than that. myself watching, i thought her dress was fabulous, i was just happy to see a fellow member of red sox nation get that trophy. >> a lot of -- i was surprised,

a lot of conservatives thought this was inappropriate. >> why would it be inappropriate? >> a lot of republicans were arguing it was inappropriate for someone political to be injected into the oscars. >> there's so many political movies -- >> oh, wait, the oscars -- >> thought this was a -- a lot of republicans, at least in my twitter feed, didn't like this. maybe i'm reading too much in this but i think the obamas in the second term, they're not facing re-election, they're a little bit more uninhibited about doing these kinds of things. the president goes and golfs with tiger woods. or they go out to a fancy restaurant in washington. and they just -- i think in the first term, there's much more sensitivity to the political implications. >> every second term, when we covered, bill clinton, the first term was one thing, second term, another thing. george w. bush, second term, gloria, pick it up you're a lot more free to do stuff that you really want to do. >> you are. but i'm also surprised at people being shocked that politics is being injected into the oscars.

i think the oscars are pretty political. i think these movies were pretty political. i think it was a statement coming from the white house. and yes, i think they're going to be more integrated in our culture and she is more relaxed and why not and, you know, i think the question that lots of conservatives were asking that i saw is would hollywood have invited laura bush. would hollywood have invited barbara bush. would hollywood -- i believe hollywood probably would have invited nancy reagan if they could have thought of it. >> others make the point, look, in washington, gun control's an issue now. there's a lot bashing of hollywood right now over gun control. what is the white house's position right now? >> and let the first lady have some fun. she's entitled to have some fun. now let's see if washington can do its business. the one thing she can't get involved in is the sequester

negotiations -- >> she was great dancing with jimmy fallon friday night, if you saw that. if you didn't see it, you should go and take a look. she can really dance. mom dancing as jimmy fallon -- >> mom dance. >> i have no dancing ability so i can't judge on that one. >> all right, guys, thanks very, very much. this just coming in to cnn. we've confirm the former surgeon general of the united states c. everett koop has died. she was well known for his campaign against cigarette smoking. and his first official to call for a smoke free nation. also known for speaking frankly on the subject of aids before becoming the nation's top health official, he was a pioneer in the field of pediatric surgery. according to a statement from dartmouth college, koop died peacefully in his home today. he was 96 years old. c. everett koop has passed away. a frantic search is under way off the coast of california for a couple and two young children missing since their

sailboat started taking on water yesterday. we're going to hear their mayday call. that's coming up next. for another meeting? yup, i brought my a-team. vo: business trips add up to family time. this is my family. this is joe. hi joe! hi there! vo: earn a ton of extra points with the double your hhonors promotion and feel the hamptonality. for over 75 years people ...with geico... ohhh...sorry!. director's voice: here we go. from the top. and action for over 75 years people have saved money with gecko so.... director's voice: cut it! ...what...what did i say? gecko? i said gecko? aw... for over 75 year...(laughs. but still trying to keep it contained) director's voice: keep it together. i'm good. i'm good. for over 75...(uncontrollable laughter). what are you doing there? stop making me laugh. vo: geico. saving people money for over seventy-five years. gecko: don't look at me. don't look at me. did you know not all fiber is the same? citrucel is different- it's the only fiber for regularity that won't cause excess gas. it's gentle and clinically proven to help restore and maintain regularity.

look for citrucel today. i took my son fishing every year. we had a great spot, not easy to find, but worth it. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function starting within five minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better. and that means...fish on! symbicort is for copd including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. with copd, i thought i'd miss our family tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today, we're ready for whatever swims our way. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more.

[ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

a chilling final radio call. now a desperate search for a family of four missing in the frigid waters off san francisco. cnn's dan simon is on the scene for us. he's working the scene. what's the latest on this missing family, dan? >> reporter: hi, wolf . the search is ongoing. a missing husband, his wife, their 4-year-old son and his cousin. at this point, we don't have any more information about their identities because at this point no one has filed a missing person's report. they were sailing in a boat like

this one. a 29-footer. at around 4:30 sunday afternoon, the vessel operator radioed the coast guard to say it had taken on water and they were in trouble. an hour later, he radioed this. we've looped the short audio for clarity. >> coast guard, coast guard, we are abandoning ship. this is the charmblow, we are abandoning ship. coast guard, coast guard, we are abandon iing ship. >> he sounded relatively calm considering the fact they were taking on water and they had the children on board. he sounded like -- he wasn't -- panic hadn't set in. >> reporter: crews are searching for the group off the coast of monterey. we're told it's a husband, wife, their 4-year-old son and his cousin. water temperature probably not much above 50 degrees. >> they had a radio on board which was good for them to be able to contact us so we could start the search. but they didn't have a life raft. so they had to improvise. >> reporter: where the family

was heading and why they ignored warnings of rough seas remains a mystery. >> their electronics failed. their gps failed it and they decided that it was best to abandon ship. >> reporter: we don't know if this was some kind of leisure outing or an extended trip. but despite the fact these waters are very frigid and it would be difficult for anyone to survive, let alone children, they're still out there searching right now, wolf, back to you. >> all right, dan, thanks very much. we'll stay on top of this story. across the midwest right now, a blizzard is going from bad to worse. we're now getting a new report that people are trapped in their cars. let's go quickly to our severe weather expert chad myers for an update. >> it's happening all across the texas and oklahoma panhandle, wolf. people now stranded in their cars. with the winds blowing at 50 and 60 miles per hour and five-foot drifts. even some of the snowplows that are going out to get those people, the emergency responders, are also getting stuck. for a while today, all of the plows were pulled off the roads

in the texas panhandle around amarillo. it was just too dangerous. snowplow operators couldn't even see the roadways. they were driving off the road. getting themselves in trouble. now that snow has moved into woodward. and is almost to stillwater, west oklahoma city. it's going to be a brutal night with winds coming down like this, 30 to 50 miles per hour. blowing that snow in all directions and making huge drifts and putting people in danger if you're out driving. amarillo texas today. the weather service office said do not travel. that was the forecast. and literally they were very serious about this. and now we're to wichita and also down into the i-35 corridor into parts of oklahoma. blizzard warning now for oklahoma city proper. it's coming to you. state of emergency for oklahoma county. you need to be off those roads before it starts. you can't be stuck out there because the emergency responders are not going to get to people, wolf. >> listen to chad, good advice for viewers. a story of the iran hostage

crisis takes the big prize at the oscars but the story continues for some hostages who didn't escape. now they want iran to pay. we're going to hear from some of them. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go,

the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. peoi go to angie's listt for to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact that i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. join today and find out why over 1 million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. why not make the day unforgettable? with two times the points on travel, from taxis to trains. you'll be asking why not, a lot.

chase sapphire preferred. there's more to enjoy. impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing.

"argo" which won the academy award for best picture last night is the story of a mission to rescue six americans during the iran hostage crisis. but 52 other americans endured more than a year in captivity and for some of them, the story still, still is not other. cnn's brian todd is joining us now with more on this part of the story. what's going on? >> wolf, some former american hostages are now trying to compensation from fines to american companies. fines that were levied to those companies for breaking the trade embargo against iran. one former hostage told me that he thought "argo" was a great movie but he and many others say

their story their own story, was much different. it's now celebrated as the stuff of movie legend. depicted in the best picture oscar winning movie "argo." a risky scheme to get six americans pretending to be a canadian film crew out of post revolution iran. >> the only way out of that city is the airport. you build new cover identities for them. >> reporter: but that's not how it worked for steven lauderback. this is somewhat that blighted period american history was like for him. >> i had a drinking glass which was of glass, it had the embassy seal on it. i broke it and i slashed both wrists. >> reporter: louderback was one of 52 americans who never got the chance to escape. they were held hostage for 484 days by the iranian regime signed the u.s. embassy and at iran's most notorious prisons. lauderback says he slit his wrists to try to get out of solitaire confinement. it worked. since he and the other hostages were released in january of 1981, lauderback's had other

problems. what have you gone through? >> it's never really behind you. i've had various nightmares. my most frequent nightmare, somehow the agreement has been taken back and we're going back to captivity. i get panicked, clause throw phobia. >> reporter: they had sought compensation from iran for their ordeal. a little over $4 million each. >> they were run into trees. they were beaten. they played russian roulette with them. they stood them up and mocked firing squads. >> reporter: for years, the hostages tried to sue the iranian government. under the terms of the algiers accord, the negotiation, between the u.s. and iran that got them released, they weren't allowed to. members congress tried to help. but they could never get u.s. courts or the state department to agree to move around those accords. even though the hostage s conted that deal was made with a gun to america's head. now they're trying to get money from fines collected from

companies that violate the trade embargo against iran. former hostage phil ward who was a cia agent in tehran in 1979 won't see any of it. >> he became alcoholic. he became estranged from his community and even his family. and on october 22nd, he took his own life. >> reporter: attorney tom langford is try to get compensation for ward's relativings. he points out that other americans who were held hostage under different circumstance, did win reparations from iran. like terry anderson who was held for several years by iran's proxy in lebanon, hezbollah. the state says it is grateful to the hostages but it says a key condition of their release was they could not sue iran in u.s. courts and according to the state department, quote, we are bound by this commitment and must continue to honor it. wolf. >> what's been the reaction, brian, from iran, to "argo's" winning the best picture award? >> they're not taking it well

right now. iran's culture and islamic guidance minister, that's his title, quoted by a government news agency here as saying "argo" quote lacks any artistic aspects. he says it's an anti-iranian film. and one government news agency says the fact that michelle obama announced the winner speaks to the politicalization of this movie. >> thanks very much for that. "argo" certainly putting a spotlight and possibly a new bit of light on the jimmy carter presidency. doug brinkley is a presidential historian. joining us from austin, texas. thanks very much for coming in. you've written an intriguing piece suggesting that maybe this film "argo" is going to be a little revisionist history for the former president of the united states. why do you say that? >> well, first off, as he's getting near 90, he's already a nobel peace prize winner, i think people are just starting to like jimmy carter. help was on cnn last week and did i thought a brilliant

interview with you guys. but when you look at the iran hostage crisis, i mean, carter eventually negotiated the release of all those hostages. it cost his political reaction. he could have bombed tehran and maybe gotten himself re-elected but he didn't. sometimes we have to judge presidents by what they don't do. he didn't get uss into a war in iran. look what happened to bush and iraq it didn't turn out so well for the country. beyond that, i talk about the panama canal doubling in size. that was carter doing it. he was the one who recognized the people's republic of china. created a friendship with ping, who we're all beneficiaries of today. and particularly on environment and energy, i think carter's looking better and better. >> he also achieved the camp david accords, peace between israel and egypt. a cold peace but still in business all these years later. at the same time, you know this well, there was, what, 444 days of americans being held hostage in iran. there was high inflation. very high interest rates.

people were deeply worned about their savings. and a lot of folks remember that, looking at that the 1980 election, which he lost to ronald reagan. >> well, that's right. i mean, nobody's pining for the carter days. and certainly i mean he didn't control his own party. he had scoop jackson, democrats, hawks, abandoned carter and ted kennedy liberals abandoning him. what we can do is start looking at what it was like in his one term. just like we'll have a revision with president 41. carter did some great things in alaska and our national parks service. carter doubled the size of the national parks. and he saved all these great wilderness areas. well, it may not seem that big to you now. about 50 years from now when the rain forests are dead and so much of the world has been in ruin, saving all these bits of wild america will look like a greater achievement. only theodore roosevelt and fdr was a better conservation president than jimmy carter. >> how much would pop culture have an impact on some

revisionism as far as jimmy carter is concerned? for example, the film argo? >> i think it's helpful because it's put -- it shows that film. i think the carter administration was trying desperately to get rid of those hostages. they were always between a rock and a hard place. when you had the famous rescue, we were one helicopter short. and it didn't happen well. it became the new republican called it the jimmy carter desert classic. it was a disaster. but carter worked nonstop trying to get those hostages out. you know what, they're alive today. they have grandkids. and they -- carter saved all their lives. and so we can honor at least the fact that he was trying to work those. but it was a political disaster for him. cost him re-election. >> what you're basically saying is as time goes on and years continue to fade away, we're going to have a little bit better recollection of jimmy carter, sort of the way harry

truman contemporaneously, he was critici criticized, but over time, he looked pretty good. >> because carter's integrity is always there. and nobody -- he's an honest man. and that's going to make him look good. his post-presidential work's been amazing. but i think when he put solar panels on the white house, that seemed quite flaky. and ronald reagan ripped them all down. and we all laughed at jimmy carter. but we're now constantly talking about solar and wind and alternatives. and carter was talking about that in a very sophisticated way. a long time ago, 40 years ago, he wanted to make alternative energy our new moon shot. we didn't do it. so when environmental historian yas and the like will start looking at this and say, you know what, carter didn't have the political -- didn't know how to lead, he wasn't a great leader, but he had some important ideas for our country. i think carter sometimes overstates things wrongly about the middle east. i disagree with his views often. but he's always intriguing, interesting to listen to, and

people have starting to appreciate that as he's heading into age 90. >> that was an excellent interview that piers morgan did with jimmy carter the other day right here on cnn. doug brinkley, always good to have you on "the situation room," thanks. >> thanks, wolf. >> tonight, piers will take a closer look at the film "argo," all the winner, the losers, from hollywood's big night. 9:00 p.m. eastern. only here on cnn. looking forward to that. just ahead, billions of dollars in sandy relief money now being threatened by those looming forced budget cuts. check out my new treadmill app.

pretty sweet, huh? cute. but don't you have any apps on your phone that can make your life easier? who do you think i am, quicken loans? at quicken loans, we'll provide you with myql mobile. this amazingly useful app allows you to take pictures of your mortgage documents using an iphone or android smart phone... so you can easily send them to us. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze.

ooh, la-la!

with those broad federal budget cuts looming by friday, some of those who could be hit are victims of hurricane sandy. i'm joined now by cnn's mary snow. she's joining us from seabright, new jersey. what kind of cuts are we talking about? specifically impacting those victims? >> reporter: well, wolf, billions of dollars are at stake in that $60 billion aid package that was just passed by congress last month. and for communities like this one, struggling to rebuild, they're counting on all the money they can get. >> the river's right there. so it blew out here. >> reporter: the business that took brian george two decades to build was washed away in just minutes by superstorm sandy. still, he remains an optimist. and that optimism extends to those washington lawmakers who control the fate of forced spending cuts. they don't reach a compromise later this week, up to $3 billion in sandy relief money would be threatened.

>> if they have had a brain, they'll understand the need. and they won't get bogged down with politics. >> reporter: and if they do get bogged down with politics? >> well, it's a sin. bottom line, it's a sin. >> reporter: george has applied for government loans and grants. he's already dipped into his retirement savings. help cred he credits his insurance with putting him into a position with reopening his clothing store in a new location perhaps as early as friday. there aren't a lot of customer because many homes remain empty. >> most are gutted down to the studs and have been that way. >> reporter: this is the mayor of the devastated coastal community where less than half the population has returned so far. the homeowner in this house she tells us could afford to elevate their home but others wait for government funds to rebuild. how worried are you about money? >> i don't sleep much any more. when we talk about the municipal

budget and how we're going to make it in the next couple of years. i'm very worried. it's caused me some sleepless nights. i'm confident they'll be more in the future. >> reporter: long says sea bright's annual budget is $5 million and it's already had to borrow $4 million. she has no tolerance for delays in sandy aid because of politics. >> so i feel like on the local level real people pay the price for this kind of political wrangling that's happening in washington. and that's frustrating and kind of sad. >> reporter: while she's count on area lawmakers to fight against cuts to sandy relief, one lawmaker in the fight isn't so optimistic. >> to get the money we're entitled to in new york and new jersey we had to go around like third world beggars to get the money which every other state had always gotten automatically in the past. no, i would say some people care but unfortunately too many don't. >> reporter: wolf, sea bright isn't just rebuilding, it's still cleaning up. the sand you see behind me there had to be removed from the

streets after it was swept up by sandy. and sea bright, like so many other towns along the jersey shore, are racing to get up and running by the summer when they make most of their money. wolf. >> what a story. mary snow, thanks very much. coming up, one of america's leading high-tech companies now has a new low-tech policy regarding how and where its employees must do their work. we have a surprising decision coming in from yahoo!. that's just ahead. are you in r another meeting? yup, i brought my a-team. vo: business trips add up to family time. this is my family. this is joe. hi joe! hi there! vo: earn a ton of extra points with the double your hhonors promotion and feel the hamptonality. the ones who make us laugh, the ones with the strong shoulder to lean on, the ones we're named after, and the ones named after us. it takes all kinds of good

to make a family. at new york life, everything we do is to help you keep good going. how do you keep an older car running like new? you ask a ford customer. when they tell you that you need your oil changed you got to bring it in. if your tires need to be rotated, you have to get that done as well. jackie, tell me why somebody should bring they're car here to the ford dealership for service instead of any one of those other places out there. they are going to take care of my car because this is where it came from. price is right no problem, they make you feel like you're a family. get a synthetic blend oil change, tire rotation and much more, $29.95 after $10.00 rebate. if you take care of your car your car will take care of you. see lioutdoors, or in.ight. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. maybe even a little better. visit your eyecare professional today to ask about our newest lenses,

transitions vantage and transitions xtractive lenses. experience life well lit. ask which transitions adaptive lens is best for you.

tech companies have been trend setters when it comes to allowing workers to telecommute. now yahoo! is reversing course, telling its employees no more

working from home. lisa sylvester's following this story. pretty surprising decision. what's behind it? >> okay, so wolf, you know, marissa mayer, the ceo, she has been a trail blazer. the first female engineer at google. youngest ceo of a fortune 500 company at the age of 37. now making headlines in a different way and it all starts with a memo. >> marissa meyer named one of the most powerful women said she has to prioritize. >> god, family and me in that order. >> she returned to work two weeks after giving birth is shabing up the debate over balanced issues. in this memo all things deep, the human resources said no more working from home. to become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important. we need to be working side by

side. that is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. workers currently telecommuting have until june to get comfy working out of the office or leave. the new policy was ripped by commentators. they said the commission seems backwards at a time when remote working is easier and more effective adding yours truly never worked out of an office and never will. the blocker writing for the "huffington post" seeing it as a direct dig against working parents. >> it's the opposite of what she should have done. >> ceo from the marketing company said not only does he let employees work from home, he lost time away from the office as well. >> working for a home or a 30 location. i do a lot of writing and if you work in a coffee shop, you will get more inspiration. >> meyer is bucking the trend.

9.5% of workers worked from home in 2010, up from 7% in 1997. her decision doesn't come out of the blue. she came from google that likes the atmosphere. we reached out to yahoo, but the company declined to comment. "the insider" did talk to employees and not all of them were upset. >> people were not using best judge with working for home. to the point that some of them did not say they worked for yahoo. they were coming in so infrequently or not at all. >> this is surprising because it is coming from yahoo and they have been the trailblazers. 90% of workers work from home at least one day a week. i should tell you that some believe this is an attrition plan and she knows there will be

worker who is say i don't want this deal and i want to work from home and they'll leave the company. it's a way of doing layoffs without calling them that. >> people will quit and it's an easy way and they can cut. >> perhaps that fits into the strategy as well. >> when we come back -- >> this is the power of the sports. >> a cnn exclusive from inside iran. wrestlers are in tehran and they have been and have unlikely fans.

so if ydead battery,t tire, need a tow or lock your keys in the car, geico's emergency roadside assistance is there 24/7. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

angie's liat angie's list, i autyou'll find reviews. on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. if you want to save yourself time and avoid a hassle, go to angie's list. at angie's list, you'll find the right person to do the job you need. and you'll find the right person quickly and easily. i'm busy, busy, busy, busy. thank goodness for angie's list. from roofers to plumbers to dentists and more, angie's list -- reviews you can trust. oh, angie? i have her on speed dial.

shaq 1, pain 0. [ male announcer ] new icy hot advanced patch with 50% more medicine. pain over. a threatening nuclear program with terrorists in the mideast and hostage crisis the the list is long and serious. but sports apparently transcends i lot of that. they went to the world cup of wrestling in iran's capital of tehran and found that the most popular athlete in the building was actually an american. here's the exclusive report.

>> at the arena under the gaze of iran's supreme leader, the showdown, fans were waiting for. iran taking on the u.s. to countries whose governments are bitter rivals, locking horns in the wrestling world cup. >> the on the months fear is electric. this is remarkable. despite the competition on the mat, there is no sign between iranians and americans. here's how you know. they are nearing now for this man. american gold medal winner. >> it was pretty cool. every time i step out and they are excited to see me. it's pretty cool. >> true to form, they dominate the match. in the end, team iran is king.

final score, iran 6, u.s. one. a show of mutual help. something washington has rarely shown since 1980 when they broke off diplomatic ties. >> you are looking at iranian fans chasing after jordan like he's a rock tar on the team as they get on the bus. >> these guys love the fact that the american team is here. >> this is little love in the u.s. for the iranian government. in a poll last year, one in three americans said they were enemy number one. >> does that match with what you see here? >> athletes with the lactic acid

enables us to engage with each other. >> this is the 10th visit and stirs speculation that sport may help build bridges between the two countries. >> when we got here, they had their arms wide open to our wrestling program and americans because they realize it's a better world here today. >> so far the exception to that wrestler's rule has been washington. >> during our visit, the government's deep seeded suspicion for the international media was evident. a few hours and confiscated the interviews with both the u.s. and iranian interviews. and we ended up doing the introduce over again. it was a reminder that the relations remain very complicated.

>> we are protesting the confisication of cnn's video. happening now, a new study that could help save your life. information you need to know. what's being done to protect the people after a fiery crash. dna under review. the u.s. supreme court could decide if some cold case are ever sold. a real life argo star, the ambassador talks about the way he was portrayed in the film and what will michelle obama do for an encore after her oscar surprise. you are in "the situation room."

>> taking another budget crisis down to the wire. warnings about the cuts, they take effect only four days from now. any sign that someone is willing to come up with a deal? >> they are digging in and they are accusing the white house of trying to scare people. if congress wants to stop the cuts that start going into effect at the end of the week, lawmakers better do something about it. >> these cut dos not have to have. they can turn them off any time with just a little bit of confidence. >> to get congress into the spirit of compromise, they look

on a state by state level. 7400 fewer children receiving vaccines in florida and 52,000 defense workers furloughed in texas. the president asked to leave a closed door meeting with the governors to have a frank question and answer session. >> the president needs to stop trying to skart american people and you can cut less than 3% without the consequences. >> just as they wrapped up, the homeland security suggested that the cuts could make the borders vulnerable to terrorists. >> i don't think we can maintain the same level of security at all places around the country. >> can you say you are not trying to scare people and what

you are saying has to happen? is it a necessity with the cuts? >> i'm not here to scare people. i'm here to inform. >> the president has been engaging for weeks now. >> mr. president, you got your tax increase. >> the governor does not sound encouraged pachlt. >> look. as you heard many say, we still think there is time for this administration to come up with a sensible alternative and for that to happen and for them to be there, the ball is in the president's court. >> a top aide said to expect two different bills, from the democrats and one from the republican in that there is no filibuster. the white house is insisting any delay include something that they will not go for. any talk will get complicated. keep in mind at the end of next

month, the government is scheduled to run out of money. >> later this hour, we will ask lindsay graham about the standoff over the forced budget cuts and any hope of revealing that in "the situation room." word of a new and important medical study and. >> i would we now have new evidence and learning of new evidence about a good way to eat to reduce heart disease. here with details, they got wolf's attention and mine as well. what were people eating in the study.

>> the mediterranean diet, this is a particularly large and well done study in the new england journal of medicine. let's list the food that study sblts were told to eat a lot of. fruits and vegetables and fish like salmon and mackerel three times a week. also three times a week, some had a handful of nuts every day and another section of these subjects were told to take in four tablespoons a day of extra virgin olive oil and avoid certain foods when you see them. you will see wow, americans eat a lot of these. avoid soed a pastries, butter, margarine, and red meat. those were on the no-no list. they found by eating the mediterranean diet, it reduced by a 30 the number of heart attacks, strokes and deaths.

that is say huge reduction. so big in fact that they decided to stop the study early so researchers could get word out early. >> the focus is the risk of heart disease. the good foods. >> americans are told to cut down on the fat. this fat is monounsaturated fat which is thought to be much better than other types of fat. in this study, they told another group of people, cut down on all fats. those people did not do as well as the folk who is did the diet. not all fats are that's the advice. lying is good for your heart in moderation. how much wine did they think was a good idea.

have a glass of line a day. a lot of experts think that's an important part at lowering heart disease rates. not more than a glass or two, but it seems to have a good effect. if you don't drink, don't start. >> a little news can go a long way. >> thanks. >> a quick question, does it make a difference? red or white wine? >> it doesn't. there is talk about that, but wine is wine is wine. any kind of alcohol will work. it thins the blood and makes the platelets less sticky so they don't clot and give you a heart attack. >> salmon and pi note bridgeio. >> i would love to join you. >> i love that.

>> nascar officials are looking ahead to the next big race and concerns about the safety of people in the stands at daytona 500 ran as scheduled. the day before and two dozen fans were here and a fiery crash on the same track. right now with more, they have to learn the message from this. don't they? >> no question about it. eventually they will. they are sure of that. seven people remain in the hospital here behind me following that crash on saturday. some of the drivers after the daytona 500 came here to tend sometime with these people in the hospital. that crash is raising renewed concerns about fan safety. simply put, terrifying. the car goes airborne. the engine slamming into a retaining fence. a caller sounds desperate.

>> these people are really serious. the tower to zero and row 30. >> okay. >> we need help. big time, quick. >> more than two dozen people injured. >> i got hit by an engine and i got a broken leg. >> that was on the last lap of saturday's race at daytona. the crash did nothing to keep race fans away from sunday's big event. the 500. accidents that i say go with the territory. >> that's the risk that can happen on a baseball game. >> at nearly 200 miles per hour at times is like high speed bumper cars. drivers assume risk. >> they will find out whatever they can and use whatever comes from it to make ourselves better. >> in the aftermath, there is a growing chorus and questioning that assumption.

>> we can't catch a break. we have to keep it on the sport. >> the head of the texas motor speedway. drivers bargained for the risk they take. some you can't tolerate. >> by the time they got under way, you can't tell they were in a crash. >> they had been replaced. the accident might have been catastrophic. >> they're kept the carrot race track. the parts and piece fly into the stands and the stand keep the majority on the race track. >> still there were injuries. some were still hospitalized. nascar will go back and look at the crash and second by second, piece by piece. a quick fix and raise the protective fence and move fans further away from the track and that would impact one of the attractio

attractions. how close the fans can get to the action. sometimes it's just too close. >> they had been in contact with the racing officials in phoenix, arizona. they are sharing what little information they have at this point about how saturday. >> john with the latest on that. thanks very, very much. if you are a fan of csi, you know that dna tests can make or break a forward case. >> they take dna samples and solve murder mysteries ahead. change engineering in dubai, aluminum production in south africa, and the aerospace industry in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence.

request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits

with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion.

capella university understands nurses are dealing with a than wider range of issues. and there are ever-changing regulations. when you see these challenges, do you want to back away or take charge? with a degree in the field of healthcare or nursing from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to advance your career while making a difference in the lives of patients. let's get started at capella.edu. this is what it's like... paying full price for a hotel room. and this is what it's like getting a high-end hotel room for 45% off published prices... ... with travelocity's top secret hotels. ooo, tingly. the supreme court is getting ready to hear a case that could have a huge impact on whether some cases are ever sole. what limits would there be on police to collect a crucial piece of evidence. dna.

looking into the case, this is a big case before the court. >> lulths. almost everybody knows it. they need a search warrant or consent. what if it's your body and they are looking for a swab of your dna. this is about privacy and one of the most powerful crime solving tips ever. >> the case before the supreme court could go a long way to determining when and highway dna can be collected and used by police. >> solving cold cases. >> worry the help of dna, dan and his court casey solved his own murder and is an advocate for dna. >> the only evident for dna. >> she was abducted, raped and choked to death. in her struggle with her

attacker. police use the dna to identify gabe riallys the killer. >> my daughter gave up her most basic constitutional right. >> they spare others from lose being their lives because some are coming down to slaughter my children. >> more than half the states collect dna when criminal suspects were disagreeing on whether it's constitutional to take a camp without a search warrant. a dna swab was more invasive because police get a road map of genetic make up. >> may must have some level of suspicion. >> they involve a defendant who was arrested in 2009 and pleaded guilt tow a recommend call the e assault charge. >> authorities took a swab that

linked him to the state of maryland. wing went to prison for life. they sided with him saying privacy had been i have lalted. >> the question is whether this tool gives the government too much information. >> they never said that they have cart blash authority to search their authority. >> dna testing makes sense. >> so many heinous criminals that are being arrested. they are not being arrested and they're released and they reoffend. that happens again and again. >> this started with the law in the state that permits dna collection after a person is arrested. the state said dna is minimal solution and just getting locked up is enough to justify the search.

>> what will likely happen if they are collecting this information is? >> it could be a problem with about a third of the states collecting this type of information called test on arrest. >> a lot of them have this information. there was also a question where cases have been arrested and then tested and then convicted on something else. what happens to those cases. >> we will see if the court threads the needle as it often does. >> we expect a decision by the end of june? >> yes. >> thank you. >> ben affleck may have avoided an incident when he accepted the award for argo. they will get the real life diplomat crucial to the story. revealing his days in power are

not over. [ male announcer ] this is anna, her long day teaching the perfect swing begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye. picasso painted one of his master works at 56. doris taerbaum finished her first marathon at 50. not everyone peaks in their twenties. throughout their lives. passion keeps them realizing possibilities. an ally for real possibilities. aarp. find tools and support at aarp.org/possibilities.

that make kids happy. and even fewer that make moms happy too. with wholesome noodles and bite sized chicken, nothing brings you together like chicken noodle soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

an update on wall street turned bad late in the day. the other top stories. what's going on? >> ended as a testify day. the worst loss of the year. down 216 points. they are down charp sharply as well. they were spoofed by election results by austerity and doing better than they expected. once the selling started, they had the mentality and everything dropped. we will look at that closely

tomorrow. the national guard calls in motorist as the national weather service is calling a truly historic blizzard across parts of the midwest. 19 inches has fallen and it is continuing to a couple ult at up to three inches an hour in areas. almost all roads are said to be in impassible and six counties have closed all of the highways. >> days away from scotland's arch bishop. keith o'brien is resigning amid allegations that he had inappropriate relationships with four men. the british newspaper reported yesterday that they test the claims and that his retirement is unrelated. >> the cuban leader said his second term ends in 2018, he

took over for his ailing older brother in 2008 by the end of his team in 2018. he will be a ripe old age of 86 years old. it will be probably the first time in so many years that there will not be a castro. >> another four years. >> see what happens in those four. >> one of the real life characters in the argo film has strong opinions. whether ben affleck got it right and whether they run. taylor is in new york and have a lot to discuss when we come back.

>>. >> tens of millions of people around the world. ben affleck accepted an academy award and his film, argo. >> the actor and director's thank you list included canada.

. >> the terrible circumstances and my wife who i don't normally associate with iran. >> if you haven't seen it, argo tells a story of the real life rescue of six americans in iran in the 1979 hostage crisis. the movie gives most of the credit to the cia, but canada would believe the americans were hidden in the american embassy. the ambassador can tailor who was played by the actor. >> nowhere for them to stay. . >> you know that. >> we discussed the return. >> joining us is the real life former ambassador to iran. the real hero. thanks very much for coming in. >> what's your reaction to

getting the best picture? >> i think it's truly moving. did we get out of there? it's like the titanic. you know the conclusion and it draws it open until that moment. >> the timing as well. it reminds people that even 32 years later it's a dangerous neighborhood. >> the gym doesn'tive you and your colleagues and canada enough credit. you were deeply disappointed. >> we of course took the invited six diplomats to stay with us. we welcome the chance to work with the cia. he was there for a day and a half. worked closely with us. it was a canadian operation. >> at least thank you at the end of the movie. >> it's indicative of the way

the two worked together. >> in washington, i worked directly with ottawa through to washington and the canadians were committed to seeing it through. no sense in the inconceivable. they closed until the six diplomats were back home. >> of recently. >> they asked about the role of canada and the role that you played i want to play some of that sound. listen to this. >> the only thing i would say is 90% of the contributions to the ideas and the plan was canadian. that was full credit to the cia. with that exception, it's good. the character in the film was

only in tehran a day and a half. the main hero in my opinion was ken taylor, an ambassador. >> i'm sure you appreciate the words. he was laying out really what happened to you. what did happen. what did the movie get right and wrong? >> it takes place as i think hollywood is prone to do. >> the essential escape a cooperative effort and we were on the ground for the three months. tony mendez game was deeply involve and essentially a canadian effort with them assisting. >> the story was classified for a long time now and we all know

what happened. here's the question, how has it changed if it has, your life and the life of the other diplomats who save these americans? >> i think that the canadian role was personified very well in the book. that's the source of the color. i hope that americans and canadians not only see the movie to capture the attention and the risk and what have you of iran, but really capture the essence by reading the book. not quite as exciting as the movie. >> quickly before we let you go, in the movie, did he do a good job? >> he did it with grace and professionalism. i wish he wouldn't have had a larger script. >> let me thank you on behalf of all of america for the excellent work and you your colleagues did in the critical areally dangerous days that americans

were held hostage in iran. six of them were grateful to you in canada. republican senator lindsay graham stand by live with the 11th hour chances to enforce budget cuts and the reviews for first lady of the united states. michelle obama's surprise appearance at the oscars. stand by. meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max come. c-max go. c-max give a ride to everyone it knows. c max has more passenger volume than competitor prius v and we haven't even mentioned... c-max also gets better mpg. say hi to the super fuel efficient ford c-max hybrid.

it's lots of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away. we're going to wake the world up. and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. cisco. tomorrow starts here. you know how painful heartburn can be. for fast, long lasting relief, use doctor recommended gaviscon®. only gaviscon® forms a protective barrier that helps block stomach acid from splashing up- relieving the pain quickly. try fast, long lasting gaviscon®.

>> it was one of the biggest white house secrets in a long time. guess what. it wasn't leaked. i was surprised to see michelle obama, the first lady live from the white house during the academy awards show last night. taking a close at the first

lady's star turn. it was impressive. >> in a year when you have this many political films out there, it made sense. although she is getting somewhat mixed reviews. >> and the oscar goes to argo! >> at the academy awards, the camera whipped around to the winners, but it is clear who the real star is these days. the first lady's approval rating, 73%. more than 20 points higher than the president's. a slew of high profile appearances may be widening the gap. the first lady is in the spotlight everywhere. dancing with filmy fallon and bandering about her bangs. >>s are this is my mid-life crisis. >> she lit up twitter when she took a stroll to sesame street. >> there so many different activities you can do indoor or

outside. >> talking about healthy eating and exercise with big bird. >> get moving. it's good for you. >> all of this is hardly new except when serious policy matters are at stake when hillary clinton took on health care. >> health care reform must be achieved. >> first ladies are generally liked more than their husbands. michelle obama is about as popular as laura bush. the headlines are swirling around mrs. obama and ruffled conservative critics about her trips to europe and expensive clothing and suggest even now she is trying to distract voters from her husband's struggles. her award show appearance inflamed such talk and the blog said it makes the president and first lady seem small and grasping. it was downright weird. >> i hope you all got rest after last night. we had a good time.

>> a lot of fans are giving her osk after debut two tlums up. >> and even her critics to be honest. it's the first lady and a ceremonyial roll and you get to have fun instead of being cage be it. it didn't play well into the obamas being too cozy with hollywood. >> they are not going to be happy about anything. >> they are critics. i have critics and they have critics. what are you going to do? >> she is enjoying being the first lady of the united states. >> we have another election in front of you. democrat or republican. >> thanks very much. >> a man who made it cool to be surgeon general died today. he was 96 years old and during the 1980s, he was a tireless crusader against smoking and one of the first voices of reason as the down theory confronted the aids epidemic.

sanjay gupta has more on the remarkable career. >> his first love was children. before he became surgeon general, c everett coop was a pediatric surgeon who established the first neonatal intensive care unit in the country. >> he was a wonderful famous pediatric surgeon who made a name for himself and was willing to do public service at an advanced age and show bold leadership and change the world. >> close friends called him chick. it was a flafl nickname for a man who was an advocate for health issues in the 80s and 90s. he attacks smoking as the number one public health problem and called for a smoke-free society by the year 2000. taking on the companies, they

wrote the report and the dangers of secondhand smoke. >> that was the shot heard around the world. that changed public policy getting rid of smoking on airplanes and smoking in restaurants and smoking in the workplaces. >> coop had his share of critics. in the first term, the reagan administration was faced with a new and deadly disease. they demanded attention from the government. in the fall of 1986, koop released a report on aids warning even though gay men were most effected, everyone could be at risk and sex education could start early. >> by the approach to two of the great killers, tobacco and hiv, i believe he is responsible for saving many, many lives. countless. >> because he took on tough issues and used the mass mead yarks he came a pop icon. the rocker frank zappa mentioned

him in his song and he played himself in the movie the exorcist 3. after leaving office, he started the c everett koop institute and endorsed life alert bracelets for seniors. his flamboyant manner, bow ties and gentle demeanor on tough issues will always be his hall mark. dr. sanjay gupta, cnn reporting. >> he was 96 years old and he died peacefully in his home. his wife died in 2007. three of his four children are still alive. >> condolences to the family. we hear complaints that the white house is moving the goal post, making it harder for lawmakers to avoid the spending cuts scheduled to hit on friday. tackling that and a lot more at the top of the hour. speaking with the top adviser, what's going on and who are you interviewing?

nobody liked it when they shook hands, but the deal was they were going to have spending cuts. the problem is when you shake hands, should a deal be a deal? we will talk about that with jean sperling and have a look at the letters that the american people have been sending to george zimmerman. some of them are supporting him and these are incredible. you can no longer work at home if you want to work from yahoo. this affects a lot of women. >> thanks very much. only four days until the budget cuts go into effect. we will speak with lind sigraham and ask if there is a way out and how the military will be hit if there isn't. inical depressio.

drug and alcohol abuse is up. and those dealing with grief don't have access to the professional help they need. when you see these issues, do you want to walk away or step up? with a degree in the field of counseling or psychology from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to make a difference in the lives of others. let's get started at capella.edu ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] nothing gets you going quite like the power of quaker oats. today is going to be epic. quaker up. stop! stop! stop! come back here!

humans -- we are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back with great ideas like our optional better car replacement. if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. call... and ask one of our insurance experts about it today. hello?! we believe our customers do their best out there in the world, and we do everything we can to be there for them when they need us. [car alarm blaring] call now and also ask about our 24/7 support and service. call... and lock in your rate for 12 months today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

time is running out. only four days left across the board budget cuts. let's talk about the impact of chances of a compromise. we are joined by lindsay graham. senator, thanks for coming in. >> i love the set. >> thank you very much. the defense department, humans of thens of people will be furloughed. they will not get paid. how do we get out of this mess? >> republicans are not going to raise revenue to pay for sequestration. i don't believe that we can do anything in the short-term. >> raise taxes and eliminating

deducks and count me in for that and put me in on the debt. >> there has to be a big deal, a grand bargain and entitlement reform and tax reform. you can't do that in four days. >> we don't need new taxes to won the government, but to get out of debt. >> i want to ask you about the forced budget cuts. that means nothing to our viewers. listen to the fellow republican who was on fox talking about how republicans would think the impact of these budget cuts is exaggerated. listen to this. it's a terrible way to cut spending. i don't disagree with that, but to not cut 2 1/2% over a year when it's twice the size it was ten years ago, give me a break.

. >> you think the cuts could be damaging to defense. do you agree that this is blown out of proportion to sell how bad it would be some. >> taking them out of the defense department, the personnel has to come out of modernization and readiness. you have to cancel contracts that would have the ripple effect. the 10-year cut would be devastating. if you start it, it's hard to start it and start cancelling contracts and lay people off and you interrupt the programs. if you are leaving the personnel cost out of the mix, the only thing you have to cut is modernization and readiness. and from the defense perspective. >> $85 billion, you save it quickly with the defense department. get out of afghanistan this year instead of next year. we are spending $88 billion this

year to maintain the trips. you pull them out as opposed to the end of 2014. i don't know if it will make a difference in the big picture, but you save taxpayers $100 billion. >> you start another war. afghanistan will fail and pakistan can't survive. >> you keep presence like you will do after 2014, you do thatf the year after. >> our military commanders say we can go down to 34,000 by the end of this year and we'll have a residual force post-2014 with nato troops, u.s. troops, to make sure the place doesn't fall apart. if you change the military commander's recommendation to save money, not only will you screw up afghanistan. you're going to screw up iran and pakistan because people are watching us. if it looks like we can't defend america because we have budget problems, our allies are going to be uncertain, and our enemies are going to be on steroids. that's not the way to save money. >> i'm just not sure it's going to make a difference in the long

run whether we get out in 2014 or 2013. >> i think it makes all the difference in the world to whether we're successful or we lose. >> what about the media, the idea talked about passing a bill to give the president more leeway to find the cuts needed but to not have them be the draconian across the board cuts. give mere flexibility to cut them with a scalpel. >> we're the party of fiscal conservatism. have we put together a plan to cut $20 billion between march and october? no, the house passed a plan, the senate republicans have yet to offer a plan. >> but the house would have to pass it again. >> but the house used savings outside of the 2013 window. if you think this is that easy, i challenge any member of congress to come up with a proposal to cut $85 billion out of the federal budget between march 1st and october 1st. >> why not give the president the leeway, the flexibility. this is an awful way to cut $85

billion. come up with a way that's not gose to -- >> you think that's a cop out? >> we'll criticize everything he does. say it's up to you to find this $85 billion in savings and we'll see it to be easy for you, but every decision he makes, we'll criticize. to me, it's a bipartisan deal. it's a lousy way to cut $1.2 trillion, which is imminently achievement. this is the chance to do the big deal. i'm willing to raise revenue. i'm willing to az $600 billion in new revenue if my democratic friends would be willing to fix entitlement. because if you don't think it's that bad, why don't you come up with your own plan? >> the president invited you and john mccain to the white house tomorrow? >> yeah. >> that doesn't happen every day. >> it doesn't happen every day. yeah, we're going to talk about immigration. i hope we'll talk about this. now is the time to grow up. both parties need to grow up. we need to find a chance to do the big deal. i'll challenge the president. mr. president, let's do things

that will straighten out the long term indebtedness of the country. stop talking about between march and october. talk about the next 30 years. i'll raise revenue. will you reform entitlement? and we'll set aside sequestration in a way that won't disrupt the economy. >> other big news on capitol hill this week is the nomination of chuck hagel to be the next secretary of defense. you have been very strongly, not against him, per se, but you want more information about him. are you satisfied? >> i think he's an out liar when it comes to our possibly regarding iran and israel. you'll find a hard time finding anyone more antagonistic toward israel on the way he votes. >> doesn't the president have the right to pick his own defense secretary? >> yes. the question is, will we vote for cloture. i haven't found anything that will make it an extraordinary circumstance to vote against cloture. >> so you're going to allow that final vote to go through.

but you won't vote to support him? >> that's the way it looks right now, as of about whatever time it is, i intend to vote for cloture, and he's become the secretary of defense, and if i can help him, i will. >> you're vote for cloture. just to explain to our viewers, you will not allow a filibuster to go through. he will need 51 votes as opposed to 60. >> that's right. >> a lot to sgoing on on capito hill. good to see you. >> other news we have been following. that's for sure, the academy awards are only partly about the movies. in a minute, we're going to let jeanne moos have the last word on oscar night fashions and flubs. good morning, turtle. ♪ my friends are all around me ♪ my friends, they do surround me ♪ ♪ i hope this never ends ♪ and we'll be the best of friends ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing the reimagined 2013 chevrolet traverse. all set?

all set. with spacious seating for up to eight. imagine that. chevrolet. find new roads. the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf., and every day since, we've worked hard to keep it. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy. we've shared what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. bp's also committed to america. we support nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger. to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula

not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. i wish my patients could see what i see. ♪ that over time, having high cholesterol and any of these risk factors can put them at increased risk for plaque buildup in their arteries. so it's even more important to lower their cholesterol, and that's why, when diet and exercise alone aren't enough, i prescribe crestor. in a clinical trial versus lipitor, crestor got more high-risk patients' bad cholesterol to a goal of under 100. [ female announcer ] crestor is not right for everyone. like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. tell your doctor about other medicines you're taking. call your doctor right away if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired, have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of rare but serious side effects.

♪ is your cholesterol at goal? talk to your doctor about crestor. [ female announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. the awards were only part of last night's oscars. jeanne moos checks out the rest. >> reporter: is this any way to talk to a star while trying to get an oscar fashion shot? >> nicole, for me! >> nicole, look up, look up. nicole, you're looking down. nicole, over your shoulder. over your shoulder, honey. >> and honey, over her shoulder, she looked. but we were looking at every inch of them.

for instance, the darts in anne hathaway's prada dress had viewers convinced they had spotted certain spots of her anatomy. though fashion pros say it was just the darts that didn't start les miserables from being rechristi rechristianed #lesnippleabre. and she pointed out, we won best supporting actress without any support. and talk about sacrificing for vagz, kristen stewart navigated the red carpet on crutches, hopping when it came time to pose. it's possible a new jewelry trend has been launched. two actresses wore their necklaces backwards, dangling down their backs. forget anne hathaway's front. >> i really love the back, too. >> she wore a half million dollar tiffany necklace backwards. the accessory sported by the 9-year-old star of "beasts of the southern wild" were way

cheaper. >> it's a puppy purse from poochy and co. >> poochy and company sells them for about $15. this particular breed of bag was a yorkie. the shocking thing was no one asked who were purse was wearing. a tutu made of silver netting. we have gone beyond coverage that's merely head to toe. now we're talking fingers. instead of just waving manicured hand, they displayed them on the camera. >> jennifer hudson let her fingers do the talking, so did george clooney's date. katherine zeta jones seemed eager to do the manny cam, but her fingers got cut. zooey deschanel had an instagram of her pictures. as for these two fingers, it helps if you